CST Bidder pulls out

One of the four final contenders for the proposed Broadwater Marine Project have pulled the pin on their bid saying the project doesn't "stack up" and will no longer be pursuing it. Azure consortium (Brookfield Multiplex) have left the project after admitting that the project will be a massive loser in light of the now apparent unlikeliness that the state government will ever grant an extra casino license to the Gold Coast - see article - A division of Azure is Skycity Entertainment that operate a casino in New Zealand. They were reportedly pushing to drop the bid based on their understanding that the Gold Coast will most likely NOT be getting another casino license any time soon. Premier Newman has reportedly been in lengthy private discussions with Hong Kong Billionaire Tony Fung around his proposed project for Cairns, which if it goes ahead would be a much larger project than the Broadwater one could be and would certainly be a firm contender for the next casino license if one is granted - see articleMost people are calling it that it would be Brisbane first and Cairns second if any new casino licenses are granted - Gold Coast, maybe never.

Council reports have already proven that a terminal would run at a massive loss unless a big casino is attached to drive revenue and pay for the costs to operate a terminal (funded by Gold Coast gamblers and actually draining money from our city rather than supplying it). The terminal itself would not bring economic gains to the city and would cost millions to run with little return. And again we must stress this is all speculative given the volumes of data available that show large cruise ships can't ever safely navigate the seaway and broadwater.

The 'house of cards' built on misleading reports and understated data is beginning to fall and the developers don't muck around with these kind of things. They are very smart and are in the business of making money, which has been demonstrated in earnest today with the announcement from Azure. The contending development consortia are fast becoming more aware of the significant economic risk associated with the proposal and are doing their own research - We're almost certain that what they find won't impress them and this will further expand the large cracks that are already appearing in the whole proposal - a proposal that's becoming more and more evident each day as an orchestrated land-grab and not a project that will actually benefit the city at all.